Fan Creation of the Week: The Art of Deiv Calviz

This week's community spotlight shines brightly on Deiv Calviz and his incredible renditions of each of the Diablo III hero classes, as well as a host of the finest and fiercest denizens of the Burning Hells. Deiv Calviz was nice enough to take some time out of his busy day to answer a few questions we had for him. Read on for the full interview, and check out his Barbarian progress video below!

Q. You created some amazing Diablo III fan art featuring all five hero classes. Which piece was the most challenging for you?

First of all, thanks a lot for this rare privilege!

My initial plan was actually to join the Diablo 3 Portrait of a Champion Contest. UnfortunatelyI didn't finish but I continued creating these just for fun.

The most challenging piece was the Barbarian because it was the first one I did. From the start, I wanted to feature all five classes. I was still figuring out what my goals were for the set so a lot of experimentation went on. I struggled with the composition, anatomy and the actual painting process. The upside was that I also learned the most from it.

Q. Which is your favorite piece?

My favorite would be the Monk piece next to the Witchdoctor piece. Maybe I'm a bit biased since I play a monk in Diablo III but I really enjoyed the challenge this piece had. Drawing all those cultists, making the monk look awesome, and balancing everything together in a tight shot was very challenging and fun. I think Blizzard did a great job designing the iconic look of the Monk so I tried my best to represent it with a little personal touch.

Q. Do you have any other Diablo-themed pieces in the works?

Currently, I'm not working on any Diablo-themed pieces since I have other artworks to finish first. Hopefully in the near future, I’d be able to make an awesome artwork of Diablo himself. If anyone is interested, I recently made a few artworks that were inspired by the monsters from Diablo at my website.

Q. What tips do you have for aspiring artists out there?

Well, first of all, imagine yourself doing art almost every day. If you think that it makes you happy, then, go for it. You really have to love it if you want to get good at it.

Before all of this, I got to a point where I was too uninspired to do art. I began to question myself if it was really what I wanted to do. I had a non art-related job that I didn’t like for months. That made me realize how much I had taken art for granted, so I started managing my time to fit in some art every day. It's something I still need to improve even today.

When it comes to skills, the information that you need is in front of you already. You have to take advantage of the internet and put in the hours. Just don't forget that you MUST study the basics first before jumping into any superficial digital stuff like custom textured brushes, lens flares, photo filters, and what not. You should also be honest with yourself and compare the quality of your work with those who are already in the industry and constantly push yourself to be as good as or even better than them. Have a list of artists that you like and study how they work. Never stop learning.

In the end, just like anything in life, it all boils down to how much you are willing to sacrifice to get what you want.

To see more work by Deiv Calviz's stunning work, make sure to check out his gallery over on DeviantArt as well as his website and Facebook. His YouTube page also hosts videos showing the painting processes on each of his paintings!